The Brunch Club: Delicious Recipes and Hosting Tips for Feeding Friends
by Georgia Hearn
Available now (OH, £20)
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Coming from a family of cheese lovers, there had to be a cheese on toast recipe in here! Welsh rarebit is a cold, rainy English day classic with the addition of fresh crab making it just a little bit more special. Lavish comfort food at its best.
Start by placing a saucepan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the butter and flour and stir continuously as you cook for one minute.
Add the ale and beat until you have a thick sauce, then add the grated cheese, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Stir and when smooth it’s ready.
Place your sourdough slices in an oven dish and top with the cheese sauce. Place under the grill for a few minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Whilst the rarebit grills, quickly mix together the crab meat, lemon juice, chives and seasoning.
Place the hot Welsh rarebits on your two serving plates and top with the crab mix. Finally garnish with chilli flakes and any herbs you like and tuck in!
Keep it vegetarian and still just as delicious by replacing the crab with some kimchi.
Cheesy, crunchy and fresh, these go down particularly well with kids and are a great way to sneak some extra veggies into them. Play around with the vegetables – they work really well with broccoli too.
Place a frying pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the sliced onion and peppers and sauté for around 10 minutes, stirring often until soft and caramelised.
Add the cauliflower and mix together. Cook for a further five to 10 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Stir through the chipotle paste and add some seasoning, cook for five more minutes and remove from the heat.
Mix together the cheddar and grated mozzarella in a bowl.
Place another frying pan over a medium heat. Add a tortilla to the pan and let toast for a minute before adding a quarter of the cauliflower mix and a quarter of the cheese.
Fold the tortilla in half and cook for two minutes each side until golden brown and the cheese is melted. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Cut the quesadillas in half and serve warm with the herby avocado sauce for dipping and coriander to garnish.
I don’t think there is any dish that feels more like a labour of love than slow-cooked pulled pork. This recipe is a real fusion with Mexican flavours and the trusty English hash brown all presented in the style of the French eggs Benedict.
Heat the oven to 140C and place your pork in the middle of a large roasting tin.
Rub the pork with the paprika and a little salt. Pour the cider over the bottom of the pan, tightly wrap the top of the tin with foil and roast for four hours.
Whilst the pork cooks, make the pineapple salsa. Chop the pineapple into 1cm/½in chunks and finely chop the coriander (cilantro). Place both in a bowl with the chilli flakes and mix together. Store in the fridge till ready to use.
Once the meat is done, remove the foil and cover the pork shoulder with the BBQ sauce. Cook for a further 20 minutes until nicely charred.
Whilst the pork chars, make the hash browns. Grate the potatoes into a bowl with the finely sliced onion, egg and a pinch of salt and mix together.
Heat a frying pan with a generous drizzle of vegetable oil. Divide the hash brown mix into six golf ball-sized portions and, once the oil is really hot, place them two at a time into your pan and flatten them. Flip once browned and crispy – about 2 minutes each side. Remove to a warm plate.
Repeat with the other portions until all six are cooked. Transfer to serving plates.
Remove the pork from the oven and use two forks to shred the tender meat into big chunks.
Time to plate up! Top each hash brown with a tablespoon of sour cream, some pulled pork and pineapple salsa, and it’s ready to serve.
The pineapple salsa can be made 24 hours in advance and stored covered in the fridge. As long as you haven’t yet shredded it, the pork can be reheated covered in foil for 15 minutes at 200C and then a further five minutes uncovered, and the rostis reheated in a 200C oven for 10 minutes until crisp.
Replace the pork with jackfruit to make this dish vegetarian.
Available now (OH, £20)